The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Art & Art History Faculty - Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

Professor of Art

Emeritus Faculty

drawing & design

MFA Mont clair State University

Minor in British Poetry and

Philosophy of the 19th Century.

BS Fine Arts Education

Virginia State University

Minor in English.

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Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

“The Bamboozler”
mixed media, Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

Quien Sabe? dry point, Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

Uthmon Abdur-Rahman

creative works

Most creative individuals search
for a means of expression that satisfies their creative urge. Some become so immersed in the maze of being “all things to all men” in order to show their “versatility” that they become lost. Some search and never find “it”. Some find it.

I found mine many years ago by realizing that painting and sculpture did not offer me the means of expression necessary to satisfy the thirst of my creative urge. It was through a return to my secret love, graphics (prints and drawings), that I found what I was looking for. It was always present, even in my paintings, but, we often overlook the obvious simply because it is so obvious. That which we like and can do has nothing to do with that which we love and must do.

Painting and sculpture offer me little, if any satisfaction. however, I am excited and stimulated by the magic of the drawn and bitten line. Nothing is more exhilarating to me than the subtleties, gradations, and nuances of the tones in a print or drawing. There is a constant love affair in my work ...sometimes it is bitter ...sometimes it is sweet. Yet, it is always fulfilling, like love. The only rival in this affair is collage.

I welcome the challenges and disciplines involved in graphics. Perhaps these are the reasons for my being a graphic artist. Perhaps it is the best or only media most suitable for my imagery, which is not always appealing to everyone's aesthetic appetite, but, then, what is? Whatever it is about graphics, it is my means of creative expression.

teaching philosophy

I meet my students where I “find” them, then bring them to their highest level of performance by instilling in them the understanding that only their “best” is acceptable; mediocrity is not. I ultimately want them to expand their horizons through exposure, experience, and education so they will “lust for knowledge.” I am interested in their “I.C.” (intellectual curiosity) - not their I.Q.